2 get life in biryani shop owner killing

Kolkata: A Barrackpore court on Tuesday sentenced two men to life imprisonment for the murder of a biryani shop owner in Bhatpara, North 24 Parganas, who was shot dead after demanding payment for nearly a dozen biryani packets taken from his shop.Additional District and Sessions Judge (Second Court), Barrackpore, Basant Sharma, convicted Mohammad Firoz and Shahbaz Ansari and awarded them life imprisonment. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on each and handed down additional jail terms of five years and three years under provisions of the Arms Act.According to police, the incident took place on the evening of June 3, 2018, at the popular Mondal Biryani outlet in Bhatpara.

Owner Sanjay Mondal was attending to customers when a group of motorcycle-borne miscreants arrived and demanded nearly a dozen biryani packets.“When Mondal asked them to pay for the food, the accused allegedly threatened him at gunpoint. As he resisted, one of the assailants opened fire. Mondal initially managed to flee and ran out of the shop, but the attackers chased him on their motorcycle and shot him at least three times from close range before fleeing,” an investigating officer said.

Mondal sustained bullet injuries to his chest, back and head. He was rushed to Barrackpore BN Bose Sub-Divisional Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.During the investigation, police arrested Firoz and Ansari from a hideout in Titagarh.Public prosecutor Satyabrata Das said the prosecution had sought capital punishment for the convicts. “The victim was killed merely for demanding payment for the food. We sought the death penalty, but the court awarded life imprisonment in line with Supreme Court guidelines,” Das said.